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November 7, 2010

* “ To those who have asked whether this is intended to send a message, my answer is, simply, absolutely,” Mr. Obama said, after he and Mrs. Obama signed a guest book at the memorial and met briefly with victims of the attacks. “Ever since those horrific days two years ago, The Taj has been the symbol of the strength and resilience of the Indian people. So we use our visit here to send a very clear message that in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united.”

* “There still exists a caricature of India as a land of call centers and back offices that cost American jobs,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s a real perception. But these old stereotypes, these old concerns ignore today’s reality: In 2010, trade between our countries is not just a one-way street of American jobs and companies moving to India. It is a dynamic, two-way relationship that is creating jobs, growth, and higher living standards in both our countries.”

President Barack Obama dancing with the students in Mumbai. More photos

MUMBAI, India —President Obama, fresh off a stinging electoral defeat for Democrats, opened a 10-day tour of Asia on Saturday with a courtship of corporate America, including private meetings with American business executives who are here for his visit and an announcement that he will lift longstanding restrictions on exports of closely held technologies toIndia.

After an election season dominated by voter dissatisfaction with his management of the economy, the president is casting the four-nation trip, which will also take him to Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, as an economic mission. His agenda is heavy on taking steps to open foreign markets to American goods; he hopes to come home from South Korea, for instance, with a renegotiated free trade pact.

Here in Mumbai, Mr. Obama lavished attention on American business leaders who coordinated their visit with the White House. He announced that, as part of the trip, American and Indian companies signed or are about to sign 20 deals worth about $10 billion that will help create more than 50,000 jobs at home, although many of the deals have been in negotiations for some time and some have yet to be completed despite 11th-hour negotiations before his trip.

In addition, the easing of the so-called “dual use” restrictions, which bar American export of technologies that might be used to build weapons, represents a policy change that is a high priority for companies here and in the United States.

“As we look to India today, the United States sees an opportunity to sell our exports in one of the fastest-growing markets in the world,” Mr. Obama told a gathering of political leaders and Indian and American executives. “For America, this is a jobs strategy.”

Accompanied by his wife,Michelle, Mr. Obama began his day here on a somber note, paying homage to victims and survivors of the 2008 terrorist siege in Mumbai carried out by Pakistani militants. But the president failed to mention the terror threat to India that emanates from Pakistan — an omission that drew some criticism in the media here. He also made a brief stop at the home, now a museum, whereMahatma Gandhistayed while fighting for his country’s independence.

But such symbolic acts quickly gave way to Mr. Obama’s diplomatic and business agenda, aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations at a time in which China is more aggressively pursuing power in the region.

India has operated under the high-tech export barriers since its nuclear test in 1998, and has long sought a loosening of the export restrictions more for political reasons than economic ones — the country does not want to be viewed as a rogue state.

Indians have argued the restrictions became outdated when they signed a groundbreaking civil nuclear cooperation deal with the United States when PresidentGeorge W. Bushwas in office. That deal ended a long moratorium on providing India with the fuel and technology for desperately needed nuclear power plants.

Mr. Obama is also taking Indian defense research and space agencies off the United States’ “entities list,” clearing the way for greater cooperation. Executives here welcomed the moves.

“It is a signal, No. 1, about India as an ally, and No. 2, it has a business potential,” Anand Mahindra, managing director of the Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, said in an interview. “Both of these are important.”

Still, Mr. Obama seemed mostly to be aiming his message at American business leaders. Many executives during the recent political campaign accused the White House of being antibusiness and poured money into the coffers of Republican candidates and groups that aimed to defeat the Democrats.

More than 200 American executives timed a business conference here to coincide with Mr. Obama’s arrival in Mumbai — and the president worked hard to reciprocate.

The chief executive officer of Boeing, Jim McNerney, who also leads the President’s Export Council, greeted Mr. Obama whenAir Force Onetouched down, and then was whisked downtown aboard the presidential helicopter. Later, Mr. Obama met privately with American chief executives, among themJeffrey R. Immeltof General Electric, who has been critical of the White House in the past.

“It’s unprecedented,” Mr. Immelt said in an interview, praising Mr. Obama for talking up trade, a politically risky move for a Democrat. “I don’t remember President Bush ever having a mission like this. I think it’s quite rare and I hope the first of many.”

Mr. Obama decided early on that his predecessor had not paid enough attention to Asia, and it is no coincidence that the four countries Mr. Obama is visiting are all democracies. It is also no coincidence that China is not on the agenda; by building ties with emerging economies, like India and Indonesia, and strengthening them with longtime allies like South Korea and Japan, the administration hopes to dilute China’s growing power in the region.

India’s economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 8 percent through 2015, and with a population of 1.2 billion, the White House views it as a prime market for American goods.

“The United States sees Asia and especially India as a market of the future,” the president said in a speech to the U.S.-India Business Council. “We don’t simply welcome your rise as a nation and people, we ardently support it. We want to invest in it.”

In the afternoon, Mr. Obama met with a group of 25 Indian executives, including entrepreneurs who are working on startup companies involved inelectric carsand water purifying companies. Mr. Obama told the group that he wanted to hear from them about new ideas that could help create jobs in the United States and emerging markets like India, said Shaffi Mather, a young Indian businessman who attended the meeting.

“He spoke in the background of the electoral pressures,” Mr. Mather said, “but he still clearly set the goal of economic growth not only of the U.S. but also of India.”

India is a politically delicate place for Mr. Obama to talk about jobs, given American concerns about outsourcing. As a candidate, Mr. Obama often lamented the tax incentives and lack of educational opportunities in the United States that, as he liked to say, forced children from Boston to compete for jobs with children from Bangalore. Here in Mumbai, he steered clear of the Boston-Bangalore analogy, as he made the case that investment overseas can create jobs at home.

“There still exists a caricature of India as a land of call centers and back offices that cost American jobs,” Mr. Obama said. “That’s a real perception. But these old stereotypes, these old concerns ignore today’s reality: In 2010, trade between our countries is not just a one-way street of American jobs and companies moving to India. It is a dynamic, two-way relationship that is creating jobs, growth, and higher living standards in both our countries.”

Mr. Obama is spending an unusually long time — three days — in India, the longest amount of time he has spent in any foreign country as president.

Soon after Air Force One touched down early Saturday afternoon, he and the first lady headed to the TajMahalPalace and Tower Hotel, which bore the brunt of the terror attacks on Nov. 26, 2008.

The president and his entourage are staying at the hotel, which is home to a memorial for the more than 160 people killed during the highly coordinated attacks over four days.

“To those who have asked whether this is intended to send a message, my answer is, simply, absolutely,” Mr. Obama said, after he and Mrs. Obama signed a guest book at the memorial and met briefly with victims of the attacks. “Ever since those horrific days two years ago, The Taj has been the symbol of the strength and resilience of the Indian people. So we use our visit here to send a very clear message that in our determination to give our people a future of security and prosperity, the United States and India stand united.”

Mr. Obama expressed similar sentiments in the guest book, writing that the United States “stands in solidarity with all of Mumbai and all of India in working to eradicate the scourge of terrorism, and we affirm our lasting friendship with the Indian people.”

He signed his name and the date; Mrs. Obama signed her name next to his. Each left behind a white rose.